Another Roofing Question

One of the roofing companies I am getting an estimate from uses CertainTeed Landmark shingles. I had never heard of them before. Are they comparable to GAF and Owens Corning?

Also - my husband and I are unable to agree on something. He thinks the shingles sold as being okay up to 80 mph are sufficient for us (Tampa Bay area) and I want the 110 mph kind. The 110 mph kind cost $1000 more (approximately) but I figure the peace of mind is worth it. Anyone here have any actual experience with hurricane winds and shingles. Thanks.

Reply to
Dottie
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The shingles should be fine; the maker has been around "forever." I had 106 mph winds last winter that took off about a quarter of my roof. The shingles were bottom of the line, 30-year shingles that were

37 years old.

I had shingled one of my outbuildings four months before with 20-year bottom-of-the-line shingles and I lost nothing off that building. Has more to do with the age of the shingles than the rating, I suspect.

I am surprised at the price diff., I would have thought $300-$500 extra for the hurricane shingles....How many companies gave you estimates?

Reply to
timbirr

CertainTeed is at least as good as the two you mentioned.

Your husband, as you are well aware, is generally wrong. :) I would imagine, for peace of mind, you'd want the higher rated shingles, and I'd be surprised if Florida's code doesn't require the higher wind resistance rating.

Regardless of which shingles you choose, the nailing pattern is important. Most shingle manufacturer's require 6 nails per shingle in high wind areas. Normally, there are just four. Florida also prohibits using staples, so look for the What?-Staples?!-Staples-suck!- and-no-one-uses-them-anymore reaction from the contractor when you ask about them.

R
Reply to
RicodJour

Two other people on my street are interested in new roofs, that is, we want to get them before hurricane season gets here though none of us currently have leaky roofs. One man we know got a new roof this past week and he got the heaviest one (110) offered and I heard the price was $14,000. It was Owens-Corning.

One neighbor got an estimate in the mail yesterday from a company that uses the CertainTeed kind. It was for the premium (80 mph I think)...the estimate $8500. The company rep is coming out Tues. to give me an estimate so I have been looking through my friend's material to see how I liked it. I am getting another estimate later in the week from a company that uses GAF everything. I got his name off My Safe FL home web site but don't know anybody who has used him. The company which uses CertainTeed has done a lot of work around my neighborhood ... I see their trucks a lot. I've only talked to one person who used them and he was satisfied with their work.

Reply to
Dottie

I've only experienced 70 mph winds, Tampa Bay area. That is as fast as I ever care to see. Lots of shingles gone, including concrete, in our neighborhood. Due to installation problems with our roof, the roofer had been back to glue down the tabs - probably saved ours, although we did lose a large skylight from our atrium.

I would be inclined to believe that the difference between 80 and 110 mph will give you more to worry about than shingles. The extra $1,000 might be better spent to put on hurricane straps if you don't already have them.

How near the water are you? Above sea level? Trees near the house? I went to a couple of hurricane seminars, and the most interesting speaker was the county arborist. Shingles won't be worth dirt if you have

1,000# of live oak coming down :o) He illustrated features about trees that make them dangerous, other than the obvious dead limbs.

We are on the water, so if there was a direct hit, I would leave for higher ground. A 12' storm surge, at high tide, would flood our condo. A 20' storm surge with 20' waves would be a problem for neighbors on fourth floor. Another interesting tidbit is that in highrises, the winds are faster than at ground level. Hurricane shutters here a must, IMO. My hubby went out at the height of that storm to retrieve a recycling barrel, very heavy, that was blowing down the street. He is exceedingly strong, but it was a struggle for him to get it back home.

In one of the floods up north - Jersey? - I saw a TV spot about a guy who put plastic sheet and sandbags all the way around his house and about four feet up. His neighbors were all flooded out, but he had no water in his house. I contemplated something similar before we evacuated, but hubby didn't go for it :o)

Reply to
Norminn

I had my roof replaced in 1984 with what was (supposedly) the best asphalt shingles then available, the 30 year warranted brand called CertainTeed Landmark. They were unquestionably the heaviest and most expensive available at the time I bought them, and were one of the few brands to offer very dimensional "architectural" shingles. It is now nearly 24 years later and the still look great.........and I live in a climate with very cold, long winters and pretty hot summers.

Smarty

Reply to
Smarty

clipped

One clue is whether the particular shingle is approved for installation in Miami/Dade. Shingle co. website should have that info. Miami/Dade building dept. has data on thousands of products - shingles, windows, shutters, etc. - which might provide more info about particular shingles. I checked out the site for windows, but not for shingles.

Reply to
Norminn

If you still have the link for Miami-Dade I would love to have it. I called our Pinellas Co. building dept and the man who talked to me didn't have answers to many of my questions.

I am in the non-evac zone. We have been advised to brace the gable end (one end only, the other has a cathedral ceiling and braces itself) but nobody wants to do it....one person suggested we close up the vents at each end of the house to keep the wind out. He thought the air brought in by the soffit would be enough if we got a vent ridge along the top of the house.

Our next door neighbor has two very large oak trees but there aren't any in our yard. The limbs have been trimmed so they aren't directly over my house. It's still "iffy".

Reply to
Dottie

Dottie wrote in news:1180281107.254271.300920 @p77g2000hsh.googlegroups.com:

Will your insurance company take the quality/cost of them into account if you have a claim or just pay you for cheapos? Might be a good Q to ask them.

Reply to
Al Bundy

If the roofer is comparing the shingles I'm thinking of, the next step up shingles with Certainteed are the Presidential TL. They're considerably more expensive by themselves, but also more labor to install.

Reply to
<josh

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Here is the link:

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The gist of the issue with live oaks is when there looks like a "seam" in the bark between two joined limbs, rather than continuous bark all around...means it is two separate trees and much weaker than one tree with two limbs, if that makes sense.

Reply to
Norminn

Yes, CertainTeed has been around for over 100 years and has good products. I have them on my house.

I don&#39;t know if the price difference is good or bad since that depends on the size of your roof. The only time you need the 110 shingles is when the wind is over 85 mph. If I lived where you live, I&#39;d spend the extra and get them.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Why? Maybe she has a 12,000 square foot house.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

The price quote was for my neighbor&#39;s house and it is about the size of mine. I have 1665 plus a double garage, whatever total that would be. I have not talked to the rep from the roofing company ... he is coming next week. I want to know what questions to ask about before he comes so I won&#39;t be wasting his time and mine. I would keep the receipts in a safe place so the insurance company would have to pay for the same quality shingles if I made a claim.

Reply to
Dottie

I have not followed all of this thread so someone may have said this.

Two resources for looking up products approved for use within Florida:

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You may want to check:
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It&#39;s a program where you can get matching funds to upgrade your roof, get shutters, brace your gable ends, etc. You can get up to $5,000. Part of the program involves someone coming out to inspect your home and evaluate it to determine where you get the most bang for your buck for wind mitigation efforts. Inspectors ability is a little bit hit and miss in my experience. Rather than guessing what you should do (sounds like you are?) you might get someone that knows more.

Your local building department should be able to tell you what the "code minimum" requirements are for the windspeed in your area. Next, you&#39;ll want to check what discounts your insurance company offers. "Code Minimum" is not the same as "Code Plus" which is what many insurance companies are going towards.

Reply to
MJ

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I have applied to the My Safe Florida Home for a grant. They do not reimburse you for putting on a new roof because that is considered routine maintenance. They will, however, pay one half the cost of putting the tape down on the seams while the roof is off to waterproof it in case the shingles blow off ... keeps the water from coming into the house and they mention "improving the survivability of your roof covering. For example, upgrading to a thicker and stronger hurricane- resistant roof shingle". The neighbor who just finished having his roof done was approved for a grant. It&#39;s too soon to know how long the process takes.

I did find a web site for my (Pinellas) county where you can type in the name of the company manufacturing the shingles and it says if they are approved, specifically by type of shingle.

I called my insurance company to see if they had the names of roofers who they might have worked with and in the course of the conversation, the woman who was a secretary volunteered the information that they (State Farm) did not give any deductions on insurance for upgrading the roofing material. There was a mention on the local news that a man spent several thousand dollars improving his house against hurricane dangers and his insurance company gave him a $16 reduction. Don&#39;t know which ins. co. he had. I would love to get a lower price for insurance but I am not expecting it to happen.

Reply to
Dottie

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